


Morals and Compasses

by Sincognito



Series: Skeleton Crew [1]
Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Basically pirates being asshole pirates, Explicit Language, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Piracy, Smoking, Threats, Violence, mention of rape, mention of slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-03-11 21:14:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13532682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sincognito/pseuds/Sincognito
Summary: First little drabble in this AU that was inspired by cheapbourbon‘s art and itsladykit's AU. Many years in the future monsters and humans have expanded out to the stars and for a while it was peaceful, but over time, monsters eventually grew tired of years of oppression, banding together to form crews intent on living a life of piracy. In short, Papyruses, Pirates, and SPACEEEE.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoy this first drabble, I had a lot of fun with it. This is only part one of a two-part fic, but rest assured I’ll be writing more for this AU in the future ^w^

Rus began polishing the side of his weapon, rubbing away the fresh stains that peppered its shiny chrome body. While he might have been slack in most other areas involving any form of cleanliness, he took exception toward his beautiful gun. While a monster didn’t exactly need a physical weapon – due to their powerful magic abilities – it was far easier to attack humans with their own tools; to fight fire with fire as it were. He took a certain measure of pride in his great skill with the small handgun. 

When he was positive that there were no further marks lingering on his weapon, he slid it back into its holster and turned his focus back towards the new people in his presence. They were nothing overly exciting, only a mere handful of humans who had managed to survive the barrage of fire Rus and his crewmates had laid upon them earlier that day. The first mate smirked to himself, recalling their frightened little faces and pitiful pleas for peace. 

Humans had always thought themselves superior to monster-kind, subduing them with their advanced technology and seemingly endless supply of determination to survive. It was most unfortunate for them when monsters began getting their hands on these special weapons the humans seemed so fond of. Rus understood their fondness, a gun was far easier and less tiring to use than his own magic and seemed to be a far more suitable method of disposing of foes. 

Rus, just like any other intelligent monster, knew that the easiest way to earn a good living resided in the harsh life of piracy. He had stolen, attacked innocent ships on their usual trading routes, even killed his fair share of individuals. It certainly wasn’t work meant for those with overbearing morals, but it paid well. Very well. 

The group of ugly humans before him would fetch a healthy price in the black markets of any planet. The slave trade was booming, and no one was going to miss a handful of poor traders. So long as Rus and his friends kept their wits about them and found a keen trader who could offer complete anonymity, they would be rid of the creatures in only five standard rotations at the most. 

With a bored sigh Rus began to rummage about in his pocket, producing a box of cigarettes. There were many other ways he could get his needed fix; patches, injections, implants, but the simple, almost ancient concept of some rolled paper and dry plants were how he enjoyed getting his cheap bliss. At first, he’d hated the harsh smell and how it refused to leave him, clinging to him just like a literal bad smell, but he had since grown fond of the peace the smell promised him.

With his other hand, he pulled out a lighter, pressing, and holding down a button on the side. There was a soft beep sound before a tiny flame ignited upon its tip. He brought the flaming device up to his face, keeping the flame lit until he was certain his cigarette had caught, before removing his finger, the flame immediately vanishing. 

Rus had only a moment to take a quick drag from his smoke, unable to truly enjoy the first puff of chemicals that swam about in his chest, before a hand snatched the pack from his grasp. He exhaled softly with a brief chuckle, “Rude,” he smirked, watching as the other skeleton pointedly ignored him and delved into the box, shuffling the contents about before retrieving a death stick. 

“As captain of this ship,” the other began, offering out his cigarette for Rus to light, “It’s my duty to inspect all possibly hazardous substances my crew possess.” Cash inhaled the smoke deeply, his one good eye slipping closed in contentment before he slowly let it puff from his nose like some powerful fire-breathing dragon. 

“Uh huh,” Rus’ side smirk remained firmly in place as he watched his Captain take another few calming breaths, “Do they meet your ‘mighty’ standards Cap’n?” he asked, lazily continuing to smoke as he spared a glance towards his prisoners. The brig was far from the nicest part of the ship with its dark passageways and the stench of despair that hung about almost as heavily as the smell of the two monsters’ smoke. 

“Shit brand,” the Captain huffed, scowling at the cigarette as if he could shame it into tasting better, “how much you spend on this crap?”

Rus gave another chuckle, “Too much, but it’s the only stuff they had on offer this far out,” he tried to assure his friend, “Besides, it’s not too bad, just a little... exotic,” he admitted, unable to miss the slightly odd taste and scent. 

“They probably added some weird ass alien plant,” Cash raised his arm, pressing the end of his cigarette against the blue laser between him and the prisoners trapped on the other side, weakly smirking as the ash on the end sizzled before disintegrating. “Anyway,” he began, turning back to Rus, “Didn’t come down here to steal ya’ smokes, I wanted you to go check up on Edge, he’s been a little… off… after this last raid.” 

“Sure he’s not just bein’ his usual grumpy self?” Rus couldn’t help cracking another smile at the thought of the easily annoyed monster, while he wasn’t exactly the friendliest person he had come across, Edge had a certain charm about him that was impossible to miss. 

Cash only frowned at his attempted joke, crossing his arms across his chest, “I wish,” he grumbled, “It’s not that he’s angry, more so he seems upset, a little nervous even. I don’t like it,” he had lowered his voice so that Rus and Rus alone could hear him. 

Rus nodded once, exhaling a final mouthful of smoke before dumping his fag into an ashtray they had conveniently placed next to the crates down in the brig. “I’ll slap some sense into ‘em Cap’n” he winked, offering his usual easy-going smile. 

Once Rus was out of sight, Cash slid a hand into his pocket, producing a single golden coin. He turned it about between his fingers, rubbing his thumb softly across both faces before releasing a heavy sigh. “My crew tell me that one of you apes thought it wise to attack my precious Pup,” he began, his only working eye flickering with purple magic as he carefully scrutinised each person, “and I do believe that person was you,” he lifted a finger, pointing at one of the males. 

The human seemed unnerved that he had been selected, but quickly built a somewhat confident façade, “I was protecting my family from you-you freaks,” he spat, holding a woman and young child close to his chest.

Cash smiled widely, one side bearing his broad sinister grin, while the damaged side of his face only twitched slightly upward, “I understand you completely good sir,” he growled, his eye socket narrowing dangerously, “However, I consider my crew to be family, and I am less than happy. You made the poor thing very upset.” 

While the man remained silent, his whole body reeked of fear, “So, it would seem I am at a bit of a crossroads, should I be understanding and let this matter slide, or should I punish you?” he asked, still twirling the coin in his hand, “How about we let the stars decide, hm?” his hand stilled, holding the piece of gold firmly between his phalanges. 

“Tails, I forget all about this little disagreement, heads?” he paused for a moment, pretending to think, “how about, if it lands on heads, then I get your wife’s head?” His grin was truly awesome, even if it only covered half of his face. Before the human could protest the coin was tossed – all eyes turning to watch the object spinning through the air. 

Cash quickly caught it, turning it over and placing it onto his opposite palm. He glanced at it for a moment, sniffing to himself, “It would seem that lady luck does not look favourably upon you tonight.” He gave a mockingly sympathetic smile. 

“Heads.”


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And finally, we reach the second part of this short introduction to the 'Skeleton Crew' AU! 
> 
> While the meeting with Pup is only brief for the time being, his character will be expanded upon a lot more in some later fics that I have planned, along with a more detailed version of Edge's backstory. Enjoy guys!

While the temperature on throughout the entire ship was constantly maintained at a comfortable heat, Rus found that the empty corridors often left him with an unpleasant chill. After spending so many years aboard the _Creatore Di Vedova_ the low humming of the life support systems and engines were homely sounds and there were only a few places where they could barely be heard. The hall Rus had decided to walk through was once such place – silent as the dead and feeling oddly cold compared to the hold below – although Rus simply chucked that up to there being more bodies to warm the brig.

Regardless, when no other monster was in sight the ancient vessel often felt as vast as the space through which they travelled. The ship was by no means small, but the crew that piloted it were the bare minimum to keep it functioning. It felt as though it was a rare occasion to encounter another crew member unplanned and it often left the lanky skeleton feeling lonely, causing him to wander about in search of someone he could join in companionship.

He needn’t speak with the person he was with, merely spend some time enjoying the presence of another living creature, even if that creature was a certain unfriendly feline. The ship was prone to picking up the occasional pest, it was true, but that still didn’t quite feel like reason enough for them to tolerate the cat – recently dubbed ‘Doomfanger’ by their newest crewmate – but the animal had allegedly been living on the old ship longer than the captain had been in possession of it. It felt wrong to evict Fang after the ugly cat had already decided it was his home.

Surprisingly, Edge and the heavily scarred tabby had grown to be great friends in the very short time they had known each other. Perhaps the cat could tell how badly the monster was hurting and decided to take pity on him. Edge bore just as many deep cuts as Fang, both mental and physical, and the two of them seemed to find comfort in one another, unlikely as it was that the cat had any emotions other than pure unrelenting fury.

Before he could ponder the odd relationship between the skeleton and the murderous cat, he spotted the other skeleton he had been searching for. “How’s the face, Pup?” he asked, leaning his body over the back of the chair the other monster was currently occupying. The bridge had not exactly been en route to the crew’s chambers, but Rus had decided to pay his friend a visit to check up on how he was holding up after their last raid.

Pup let out a soft grumble under his breath, reaching up to rub the base of his thumb against the new wound adorning his skull, “Hurts like hell,” he admitted with a frown, “If I wasn’t the one gettin’ punched in the face I would’a been impressed.” Where one of Pup’s canine teeth had once hung down there was a large gap and a few blotches of marrow. The skeleton had already lost one of his teeth several years ago, but now it seemed he would be getting a matching false tooth on the opposite side.

“I wouldn’t worry,” Rus smirked, leaning his weight down onto the slightly taller monster, “’m sure your boyfriend ‘ll getcha another pretty tooth,” While all the crew members were in a close relationship with one another, it was obvious to both Edge and Rus that Pup and Cash had the sort of closeness that only a strong history could provide. They had been working together longer than Rus had known either of them and so it was only natural that they shared certain things with only one another.

Rus had been sailing with Pup and Cash for almost a decade and so he trusted them with his soul – he knew for a fact that they would never betray him or leave him behind should things get a little dangerous – once a monster was part of their crew they were part of the family, and each one would protect the others until their dying breath.

Edge, however, was new to their group and was actually found under entirely accidental circumstances.

Rus only snickered when Pup slapped his skull in utter indignation. He enjoyed teasing Pup about his love life, trying his best to embarrass the easily flustered monster. Despite the fact they were all in an open relationship with one another, Pup would still grow highly defensive if even remotely pressed about it and so, the only obvious response to a lover being awkward with something, was, of course, to tease him relentlessly about it.

“You really think Cash’ll be willing to part with money we acquired by _tooth_ and claw?” Pup asked, smirking triumphantly when Rus cackled. Pup might not have told jokes often, but when he did he seemed to have a knack for perfect timing.

Rus ran a knuckle over Pup’s skull, grinning when he tried to duck away, “Who said I was referring to that boyfriend?” he winked, watching as Pup’s face was immediately awash with a bright orange colour and he attempted to hide his face between his phalanges with a muffled noise of mortification. Now certain that his the second of his partners was doing perfectly alright, Rus shoved his hands into his pockets, beginning to stroll towards the crew’s quarters.

The entire way his thoughts were consumed with thoughts of Edge, wondering what the monster had been upset by. It seemed the mere blink of an eye before he was stood at the door to Edge’s room. He gave a firm knock, waiting a long while until he heard a muffled “Yes?” from behind the thick metal door.

Rus nudged the panel next to the door, causing it to slide open with a hiss, before he peeked inside, easily spotting the body curled up on Edge’s bed. He stepped inside, waiting until he heard the door sweeping closed before he slowly approached the other monster, keeping his movements slow and cautious. “Edge?” he called softly, tilting his head slightly, “The Cap’n said something was bothin’ you, is it something you wanna to share?”

He knew that Edge was not the most open monster and so he had to be gentle and try not to pry too deeply. If Edge wanted to talk he would, and if he didn’t there was no force in the universe that could persuade him otherwise. That much Rus had learnt of his newest companion.

There was the sound of fabric shifting as Edge rolled over, finally facing Rus with his vibrant red eye lights. He continued to move further, making space on one side of the bed, before gesturing at the bed with a nod of his head, “Just… come lie next to me,” he breathed, pulling the soft sheets up to his chin.

Rus did as he asked, sparing a moment to unfasten his boots and place them aside, before lifting up the sheets and sliding in next to Edge. He shifted a moment to make himself comfortable, turning to lie on his side so he would have a perfect view of the monster in front of him, “So, wa’s the matter, precious?”

Edge was silent for a long moment, fiddling with the tiny section of blanket he held between his fingers as he thought, “You’re not going to…” he paused, glancing away almost nervously, “… get rid of me?” Rus was shocked silent, furrowing his non-existent brows. Evidently mistaking it for him misunderstanding, Edge continued, “You know, at the next port. You’re going to be getting rid of all… unnecessary… people, so,” he looked away again, his face flicking through several different emotions, “Does that mean me too?”

Without thought Rus dragged the skeleton into a firm embrace, nuzzling their skulls together, “No, no ‘course not! Why would you think we’d get rid of you, sweetheart?” He was running his phalanges along Edge’s spine, holding him close enough that he could feel the other monster’s warm breath against his sternum.

“Well, I just figured, when I’m not as useful as I was…” he trailed off upon seeing the obviously grievous look on Rus’ face, “I mean, it’s what the others di-”

“Stop.” Rus was no longer saddened by Edge’s words, he was angry, so angry that his bones had begun to rattle softly. “We would never do what they did to you, never, I promise you Edge, we’re not like them, we’d never sell off our own family,” He planted a soft kiss to Edge’s skull, taking a deep breath to calm his ire towards a certain other group of monsters.

Edge grew quiet, refusing to meet Rus’ gaze. His fingers released the blanket from his hold, instead gasping Rus’ shirt as he rubbed the material between his thumb and index fingers. “You mean it?” he voice was barely a whisper as he looked up, his eyes wavering in uncertainty.

Rus couldn’t help comparing the expression to that of the first time he had seen the broken skeleton, shackled and sobbing in terror in a dark cell. It hurt his very soul to remember him so utterly devastated, and the thought that it had been people Edge had trusted that had abused him in such a way made him want to hunt down every last one of the gutless rats.

“I promise, we’d never do that to you,” He would never let anyone harm any of his lovers, especially one that had already endured such pain. He knew why Edge had such trouble trusting him, but communication was at least a good place to start. “Besides, you wouldn’t be worth much now, we can’t exactly pass you off as a virgin anymore,” he purred, peppering gentle kisses all over the skeleton’s face.

“Hah hah, very funny, ashtray,” he grumbled, trying in vain to push the invading skull away, despite the crimson beginning to brush across his face. “How did I end up losing it to an asshole like you anyway?”

Rus laughed, moving to kiss lower down Edge’s body, “You’ve forgotten already?” he asked in mock hurt, nipping at his partner’s collarbone, “Perhaps I should remind you~” He dragged his teeth along one of Edge’s ribs, treasuring the beautiful gasp it drew from him. Rus didn’t care how many times he had to remind Edge that he would never be abandoned, he could never be mad at such a stunning, gorgeous monster. “Don’t worry, beautiful, you’re safe with me,” he hummed as he continued working his way down.

Edge gave a soft chuckle, finally allowing a tiny smile to grace his features, “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note I will be posting other works relating to this AU. Simply subscribe to the Skeleton Crew Series (you can find the link at the top of the page or on my profile under my listed series) or follow my tumblr to stay up to date on all future updates and fics!


End file.
